The Nebraska track and field team has a busy week ahead as the Huskers host the Pre-Drake Meet on Wednesday, April 24 before heading to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa and the Triton Invitational in San Diego, Calif.

The Huskers will be home on Wednesday for their second home outdoor meet of the season at Ed Weir Stadium. The Pre-Drake Meet is slated to begin at 4 p.m. and is free to the public.

Nebraska will begin the Drake Relays on Thursday afternoon when the team competes at the meet’s annual Distance Carnival. The meet will conclude on Saturday. NU’s throwers will compete at the Triton Invitational in San Diego, Calif., on Friday and Saturday.

NU Men and Women Ranked in USTFCCCA Poll

In the latest set of rankings released by the USTFCCCA, the men moved up to No. 15 nationally.

Florida is ranked first on the men’s side, while Texas A&M holds the top spot for the women. The top-ranked Big Ten team for the men is Penn State at No. 11, while Illinois is ranked 17th on the women’s side.

Track and Field News released the latest set of dual meet rankings on last week. The Husker men, boasting a 2-0 record, moved to eighth nationally, while the women moved to 20th in the national rankings with a 2-0 record.

The men are led by Arkansas, while Oregon, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Florida round out the top five. On the women’s side, LSU is No. 1, followed by Texas A&M, Oregon, Penn State and Arkansas.

Furlan Shines at Mt. SAC Relays

Senior Jessica Furlan was the top collegiate finisher and recorded a third-place finish in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase invite elite division with a personal-best time of 9:58.52 last week at the Mt. SAC Relays. Her time ranks third in the nation and first in the Big Ten entering this weekend. She already held the No. 2 spot on the all-time record list at Nebraska, but with her time on Thursday she moves closer to the Nebraska record of 9:39.35.

Wright Out of the Gate

Junior Chad Wright made his presence known in his first outdoor meet of the season, the Arizona State Invitational, with a winning throw of 189-3 in the men’s discus. Wright remains undefeated on the season after earning the discus title at the Kansas Relays, in addition to capturing the shot put crown. In the discus Wright currently ranks third in the NCAA and his mark leads the Big Ten.

Multi-Eventers Impress at Mt. SAC, KU

The Husker multi-eventers reeled in three second-place finishes in competition around the country last week. Teran Walford finished second in the decathlon at the Mt. SAC Relays/CA Invite Multi-Events with a personal-best total of 7,330 points. Anne Martin finished second in the heptathlon with a personal-best 5,321 points, while Jourdan Doffeny was second in the heptathlon at the Kansas Relays with 4,629 points.

Huskers Earn Five Titles at Kansas Relays

The Nebraska track and field team closed the 2013 Kansas Relays with four event wins last weekend. James White notched a win in the men’s high jump, while Chad Wright won the men’s discus and shot put, Jodi-Rae Blackwood won the men’s 400 meter hurdles and the men’s 4x100 meter relay team of John Welk, Dexter McKenzie, Ricco Hall and Tim Thompson tallied a first-place finish.

The Nebraska track and field team wrapped up competition at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Huskers came away with five first-team All-America honors and six second-team honors.

2013 First-Team All-Americans

Ricco Hall-4x400 (7th)

Levi Gipson- 4x400 (7th)

Christian Sanderfer- 4x400 (7th)

Cody Rush- 4x400 (7th)

Patrick Raedler- Long Jump (5th)

2013 Second-Team All-Americans

Oladapo Akinmoladun- 60m Hurdles

Janis Leitis- Long Jump, Triple Jump

James White- High Jump

Mara Griva- Long Jump, Triple Jump

Huskers Finish Second, Fourth at Big Ten Championships

The Nebraska track and field team put on a display at the 2013 Big Ten Indoor Championships, winning six event titles. The women’s team put on an outstanding performance during the championships and after leading following the first day of competition, the Huskers finished second with 112 points. The men came in fourth, posting 86.66 points.

Huskers Win Six Individual Titles

The Nebraska track and field team took home six individual titles after two days of competition at the conference championships in Geneva, Ohio. Jessica Furlan won the women’s 3,000 meters, while Mara Griva won titles in the long and triple jumps. Patrick Raedler finished first in the men’s long jump, while Janis Leitis took the men’s triple jump title. In addition, the men’s 4x400 meter relay team of Ricco Hall, Dexter McKenzie, Christian Sanderfer and Janis Leitis finished first.

Prestigious Pepin

Head Coach Gary Pepin holds 68 conference titles dating back to his first Big Eight win at the 1981 indoor meet. Pepin was honored by his peers on last season as the 2012 Big Ten Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year.

104 and Counting

As an overall program, the Huskers won 51 Big Eight titles during the conference’s history from 1974-1996 and Nebraska continued to dominate the conference since moving to the Big 12 in 1997. NU had won a league-high 23 team titles, including the program’s historic 100th conference team title in 2007.

The Huskers added their 101st and 102nd titles during the 2009 and 2010 outdoor seasons when they became the first men’s team in Big 12 history to win back-to-back team titles at the outdoor conference meet. Nebraska recorded its 103rd conference title in 2011, as the women’s team upset four-time defending champion Texas A&M at the indoor championships. Nebraska won its 104th title in 2012, beating Ohio State 114.50-106.

Big-Time Jumpers

The Husker women have been arguably one of the top programs when it comes to the high, long and triple jumps. The Huskers have won at least one title in one of the events at 12 of the previous 17 indoor conference championships and have won the triple jump crown nine times, including five straight wins from 2000 to 2004.

Mara Griva has led the Huskers in 2013, earning her third triple jump title at the conference meet, posting a mark of 42-11 1/2 (13.09).

Jumps-U

The Huskers’ jumps program was once again well represented at the national meet with four athletes earning six entries. Raedler finished fifth in the men’s long jump, while Janis Leitis was ninth and also recorded a ninth-place finish in the triple jump. James White came in 16th in the high jump, as Mara Griva finished 10th in the long jump and 11th in the triple jump.

Winning Ways

The all-time winningest track and field coach in the history of the Big 12 and the former Big Eight Conference, Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin is in his 33rd season at NU during the 2013 track and field season. The longest tenured active coach in Cornhusker athletics, 2013 will be Pepin’s 33rd season as head coach of both the Husker men’s and women’s track teams. Pepin captured 23 Big 12 titles as the Huskers’ leader.

In his first 32 seasons at Nebraska, Pepin has coached athletes to 57 NCAA titles, 477 All-America honors and 516 conference titles.

Nebraska has been a staple at the NCAA Indoor Championships as the men’s team alone has produced 120 All-America awards. The men’s squad has been on quite a roll as they have had at least one athlete earn All-American honors at the past 23 national meets. Since the indoor championships began in 1965, the Huskers have failed to leave with at least one All-America award on just five occasions, including 1975, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1990.

The women’s team has been just as good indoors since the national meet started in 1980. Along with three straight national titles from 1982 to 1984, the Huskers have two or more All-Americans at every meet except for 2002 when they failed to earn a honor.

Huskers Name 2013 Captains

The Nebraska track and field team named its 2013 captains earlier this year. Leading the team this season will be Tommy Brinn, Jessica Furlan, Mara Griva, Tim Thompson, Bjorn Barrefors, Morgan Wilken, Chad Wright, Anne Martin, Seth Wiedel and Ellie Grooters.